1. Field of the Invention:
The invention relates to a surgical tray attachment for expediting the performance of surgical operations on, and the taking of X-ray pictures of a patient's extremity while the patient is resting on a conventional surgical table.
2. History of the Prior Art:
The basic configuration of most surgical operating tables is designed for operations performed on the head or trunk of the body. Thus, the customary table is sufficiently narrow to support the trunk of the body and permits surgeons to stand on both sides of the table to perform the operation. When, however, surgery is required on an extremity such as an arm, hand, leg, or foot, the particular extremity can be positioned on the operating table, in fact, secured to the surface of the table if securement is desirable, but it is necessarily in an awkward position for those surgeons who must stand on the opposite side of the table from the particular extremity. Moreover, in repairing injuries to an extremity suffered in an accident, it is highly desirable that the extremity be thoroughly flushed with an appropriate sterile cleaning fluid to remove foreign matters from the wound and reduce the risk of infection. If the flushing operation is performed on the surgical table, an obvious mess results. On the other hand, if the extremity is moved to permit the flushing operation to be accomplished while the extremity is positioned off the table, there is an obvious risk of providing improper support to the extremity during the flushing or cleaning operation.
Additionally, it is often desirable that one or more X-rays be taken prior to the operation and as the operation proceeds, particularly where multiple fractures are involved or where bone splinters must be removed from the extremity. While portable X-ray machines are a standard fixture in a modern operating room, it still generally requires that the extremity being operated on be moved off the operating table so that it may be positioned between the beam-emitter portion of the X-ray machine and the X-ray film cartridge. Such movement during the course of an operation is very undesirable and often results in irreputable damage to the patient. There is, therefore, a definite need for an accessory table or tray attachable to a surgical table for facilitating the washing of a patient's extremity, the X-raying of such extremity, and surgical operations on the extremity.